Boy, this one really hurts. I am of the generation that will always remember him from Aliens, Predator 2, True Lies etc. But just the other day I was thinking of how AoS's final arc this season would be the perfect opportunity to bring his character back, which is a measure of how he always left an indelible impression on the films and shows he appeared in, leaving audiences hungry for more.

In fact someone in the comments at Den of Geek insisted they saw a tweet that he had shot scenes for an episode of AoS doing just that. I hope it's true, and that it's complete enough for them to still use his work. As it would be a really great way for us to see him one more time. He played Garret with such gusto, that it would be nice to see his character effectively on top of the world.

I was actually lucky enough to meet Bill Paxton about a year and a half ago at the London film and Comiccon, and I can confirm that he was every bit as lively, fun, and as generous with his time as you could ever wish him to be. I remember him pretending to get tangled up on the stage curtains when entering for his stage talk, having lots of jokes with folks in the autograph queues, crashing Sigourney Weaver's photo shoots to be a 'guest photographer' and posing for folk next to her for no extra charge. As well as most touchingly, being really kind, warm and and loving to Catherine Tate to put her at ease after she'd had a bad experience earlier. Such a great guy. He's going to be missed tremendously by all who knew him...

Game over, man! RIP to a generous and warm human being who always let the humanity of his characters show through. Married for 30 years to the same woman, with 2 kids, one of whom will star with his dad in an upcoming TV show episode. I will watch Twister in his honor tonight- it is one of my favorite movies, a guilty pleasure with too many quotable lines. "I think that's the same cow..."

Gotta throw in some love for HBO's Big Love in there as well, amongst all the memories of him in Aliens (the first time I REALLY noticed him and how smokin' hot he was...STILL was, DAMN fine for 61 or 50-something), Twister, and his part as Garrett on SHIELD (it'll be amazing if he's been worked in to this final Season 4 arc).

My sister told me just last week that she was listening to a podcast with him and found him adorable and incredibly nice and intelligent in it.

Yeah, you're not wrong. I remember folks saying how nice Alan Rickman was. Yet his villainous performances as Hans Gruber, The Sheriff of Nottingham, and Snape for most of the Potter films are ones for the ages. I guess actors with real depth can pull off anything!

@Jas: Jack Gleason (Joffrey from Game of Thrones) is another example. Everybody in the cast agrees he is incredibly nice, in his public appearances (like the speech at the Oxford Union that's on YT) he comes off as very intelligent and articulate, and he doesn't even want to be a Hollywood star so he's leaving acting to pursue an academic career. You can't possibly be more different than king Joffrey.

There's plenty of other examples. Television Tropes even has a "Mean Character, Nice Actor" entry.

Someone on a podcast I follow has a theory that it's because real life jerks don't have self-awareness to play jerks. Maybe the nice people find it easier to explore the dark side intentionally.

Absolutely heartbreaking news. He was SUCH A JOY to watch in so many films and, of course, as Garrett. It's been ages since I've seen some of his older film work. Time for some rewatches. I've never seen Twister. Must add that to my watch-list.